The Sheriff’s Department recognizes the value of a young person’s
perspective to provide beneficial insights and information about
crimes, as well as the social context in which they occur. As such, Youth Advisory Groups have been established to
provide a safe and respectful forum for generating a constructive
dialogue between youth and the law enforcement community.

Youth Advisory Groups will help County Sheriffs better understand
the priorities, concerns and issues youth face within the communities
they serve. The workshops will provide an opportunity for youth and
law enforcement to work together to find solutions to address any
issues raised. In order to be truly meaningful and effective, the
workshops will not be limited to just law enforcement topics but are
open to other emerging youth issues, such as bullying and social media interactions.

Information shared through Youth Advisory Groups will also help law
enforcement identify and prioritize at-risk youth populations and
better allocate crime fighting resources accordingly. As such, Youth
Advisory Groups will directly support the Department’s Information Led
Policing, which is a crime-prevention strategy that uses data analysis
of crime trends and known offenders to solve crimes more quickly.

Crimes that involve youth, whether they are victims or perpetrators,
have a significant and lasting impact on the quality of life
in our communities. As youth are considered a vulnerable
population, law enforcement not only has the responsibility for
bringing those that commit crimes against youth to justice, but also
the responsibility to prevent such crimes from occurring. The goal is
to provide a secure and safe environment for youth to thrive.